


He'd Follow Him Into Hell

by ciitadel



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, acxa is envy, and like those are the only characters that appear in this, basically lance is riza, but like only focusing on royai/klance, cuz it's just a few scenes, ezor is lust, fmab au, guess what boys it's a fullmetal alchemist au, hunk is winry, i might make this a series of oneshots tho who knows, keith is roy, matt is al, oh yeah i did this for the klance reverse bang btw, pidge is ed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 23:03:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14507400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ciitadel/pseuds/ciitadel
Summary: A few snapshots from the lives of Colonel Keith Kogane, the Flame Alchemist, and his second in command Lieutenant Lance McClain





	He'd Follow Him Into Hell

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys I still write fanfic from time to time yeet
> 
> so I signed up for this bang way way back a while ago (I don't actually remember when) but anyway I wrote this all last week pretty much and it was a BLAST to rewatch eps of fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood so I'll probably rewatch the whole series here pretty soon because IT'S GOOD
> 
> quick note: if you haven't seen FMAB you're probably going to be pretty confused by some parts, not saying you can't read it but it'll probably be hard to understand. Also if you haven't seen FMAB but you plan on it just letting you know this DEFINITELY contains spoilers. Like, big ones. So yeah just know that
> 
> Anyway, I did this for the Klance Reverse Bang for the amazing artist [Sven](http://legendarydesvender.tumblr.com/)! It was super fun to write and her art is super amazing so make sure to go check out her blog after this!
> 
> Also this was beta'd by the amazing [Cheesecake](http://flute-piano.tumblr.com/) so make sure to check them out as well!

“So if you don’t mind humoring a curious soul, what’s the military doing heading to the Holt house?” 

Lance looked up from where he’d been staring at his shoes, lost in his thoughts as the horse-drawn car rumbled along the bumpy road. The driver of their cart, a man with grey hair and a nearly white beard, was still watching the road with a wistful smile on his face. Lance glanced to Keith, wondering if he would tell the man their reason for being here. 

“We received reports of two siblings with a gift for alchemy, so I came to meet them myself,” Keith answered, his voice as neutral as his expression. 

The old man driving nodded. “Ah, the Holt siblings. I’ve heard they’re always studying some new thing about alchemy. Are you scouting for new State Alchemists?” he asked. 

“What with the civil war going on, we need all the recruits we can get,” Keith said with a sigh. He dragged a hand down his face, and gave Lance a tired look. Lance returned the expression. They were both tired of everything. The war, the military, they were just tired of it all. 

And now they were here to drag two more sad souls into the military.

“I bet those kids are going to be so excited when they see such a high-ranking officer at their door,” the man commented, still grinning. 

Lance whipped his head towards Keith, and they gave each other identical expressions of surprise. “Did you say kids?” Lance asked, turning to look at the driver. 

“Yup, sure did!” the man said cheerfully. 

Keith looked as if a vein was about to burst from his forehead. He reached into his bag and pulled out the files they had been given prior to their trip to Arus. “It says Katherine Holt is 34 years old right here.” 

The man turned around to glance at them, and chuckled. “No Lieutenant Kogane, Katie’s only 14 years old. Her brother, Matt, he’s 16.” 

Lance snorted, and Keith frowned at him. “2nd Lt. McClain, what do you think is the meaning of misinformation?”

Lance, who was now struggling to keep his laughter contained, met Keith’s eyes. “I think someone messed up, like, big time.” 

Keith sighed deeply, and covered his face in his hands. “I can’t believe we got sent all the way out here for a couple of teenagers,” he groaned. 

“Well, to be fair Lieutenant, you and your second Lieutenant seem to be pretty young yourselves,” the driver chimed in. “How old are you? Twenty two? Twenty three?” 

“I’m twenty one,” Keith said. “The 2nd Lieutenant is twenty.” 

“Then I don’t see why those kids being a few years younger makes much of a difference. If they’re talented alchemists, they’re talented alchemists. And let me tell you, those kids are some of the smartest I’ve met.” 

The driver’s statement hung in the air, but neither Keith or Lance decided to respond. The silence was thick, broken only by the click clack of the horses’ hooves against the dirt road. Lance squirmed uncomfortably in his uniform, the heavy fabric being just on the verge of too hot beneath the bright Arus sun. 

They passed a group of children running around, their screams of laughter echoing as they played their imaginary games. When they spotted the cart, Lance watched their eyes widen as they took in the two military officers inside. Lance gave a small wave to the kids, and they all waved excitedly back, running to keep up with the cart. 

“Hi Mr. Military Officers!” one little girl shouted, nearly tripping over a rock as she struggled to keep eye contact with Lance. Lance smiled at her and turned to Keith, who he saw wasn’t even paying attention to the girl and instead was frowning at his boots. Lance pouted and kicked Keith’s booth, and when he looked up, Lance gestured to the small girl who was quickly falling behind. Keith gave her a half-hearted wave and then gave Lance a face that just screamed ‘there, I waved, happy?’

It wasn’t long before they arrived at the Holt residence. It wasn’t a particularly outstanding house. Two stories, several windows, red roof, nothing about it seemed that out of the ordinary. But when Keith and Lance got out of the car and began to approach the inviting green door, Lance couldn’t help a feeling of dread crawl up his spine. The windows were dark, and Lance could’ve sworn the temperature dropped several degrees when they got within five feet of the front door. 

Either Keith didn’t notice these foreboding peculiarities, or he just didn’t care, because he walked straight up and rapped on the wooden door three times, short and sharp. Lance folded his hands behind his back as he stood behind Keith, waiting for sound of footsteps running to the door. 

Seconds passed, and nothing came. 

Lance glanced to Keith, both of them now frowning. Keith knocked again. “Hello? Is anyone here?” Still nothing. 

“Are you sure this is the Holt residence?” Lance asked, turning to the old man who had driven them there. 

“Believe me, I know where the Holts live, sir.” 

Lance looked to the door again, still inviting with its friendly forest green, and suddenly noticed that the door was cracked open. “The door’s open, Lieutenant,” Lance pointed out. 

Keith glanced down and his frown deepened. “Draw your weapon, and keep behind me,” he instructed. Lance nodded and pulled out his gun, as Keith called out, “we’re coming in!” 

It was even colder inside the house. No lights were on, and long shadows ran along the walls and furniture. The living room was simple, yet nicely decorated. The furniture was in shades of brown and light green, the walls a simple white. Yet, despite the utter normalcy of the place, Lance couldn’t deny that there was a sinister air to it all. 

Looking down, Lance noticed odd stains on the hardwood floor. “Lieutenant,” Lance said, hitting Keith’s arm. “What is this?” 

Keith squatted down and pulled one of his gloves off to run his finger along the substance. “It’s… it’s blood,” he said, turning to Lance with wide eyes. Lance gasped and Keith jumped to his feet. “Goddammit, I’m going to find out what’s going on in this house right now.” 

He rushed forward and Lance struggled to keep up. Following the blood trail, he ran to a set of stairs that led down, and paused at the top. Lance stopped behind him, and realized the sinister feeling was even stronger over there. Looking down into the basement, all Lance could see was pitch blackness. 

“Stay right behind me,” Keith ordered. Lance nodded, suppressing the shiver that was running up his spine. Snapping his fingers, a small flame appeared on the tip of Keith’s finger, and he held it out in front of him like a torch as they made their way down the steps and into the basement. 

Their footsteps echoing off the walls were the only sound in the basement, and the rest was silence. The light of Keith’s flame flickered and danced, creating moving shadows along the walls that Lance had to make an effort not to jerk at. The wall were smeared with blood, and Lance could see what looked like a small handprint. Getting to the bottom of the stairs, they made their way into the room, and the faint light illuminated chalk markings along the floor. 

“It’s a transmutation circle,” Lance said, staring at the intricate design that extended all around the room. 

“It’s not just any transmutation circle,” Keith said, his voice deathly low as he stared at something in the center of the circle. 

Narrowing his eyes, Lance could make out a black pile of… something. At first, it seemed like a pile of ash, but as Keith extended his hand a bit further, Lance was able to make out a shape. It was… jagged, and distorted, and… and… 

Human. 

Lance gasped as he realized what he was seeing. “They tried human transmutation,” Keith stated, his tone seething with what Lance could tell was thinly concealed rage. 

Before Lance could say anything, Keith was whirling around the room and storming up the stairs, his military coat flaring out behind him. Lance gave one more long glance at the disfigured body in the center of the circle, and after taking a shaky breath, followed Keith out of the house. 

“Where are they?!” Keith asked the old man, who had stayed outside the house when they’d gone inside. 

The man adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses. “Well, when they aren’t here the Holt siblings are always at the Garrett house-” 

“McClain, follow me,” Keith ordered, storming in the direction of the Garrett house the driver had pointed to. Lance quickened his pace, following on the tails of Keith’s coat as they made the short walk down the street to the neighboring house. 

It was just as unassuming as the Holt house. There was a shades porch out front, a rickety rocking chair creaking in the breeze. The door was painted a sunshine yellow, but unlike the Holt house, this house did not give off the unsettling vibes Lance had felt before. He followed Keith up the stairs to the porch, hands folded behind him as Keith gave several short raps on the door. 

Behind the door, Lance heard a muffled, ‘coming!’ followed by hurried footsteps. He heard the sound of locks unclicking, and the door swung open to reveal an older woman standing in front of them. At the sight of the military uniforms, she narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “Oh. Hello officers, is there something I can do for-” The woman was cut off as Keith shoved past her. 

“Hey! What are you doing?! Who the hell are you people?” She shouted as Keith made his way into the house, Lance right at his heels. 

“I’m sorry, we’re looking for the Holt siblings and we heard they might be here,” Lance told her as Keith looked around, searching for any sign of the teenagers. 

The woman, who was frowning at them, sighed and pointed towards the next room over. Keith stomped his way over and through the archway, Lance still following as always. This next room was a kitchen, but despite the cheery yellow curtains pulled back to let bright sunlight filter in through the windows, there was a gloom over everything. Lance quickly spotted why. 

In the corner of the room were two figures. One was a small girl sitting in a wheelchair, the fabric of her clothes loose and empty where her left arm and right leg should be. Her eyes were sunken in, dark shadows beneath brown irises that were locked on the floor. She didn’t even look up as the officers approached. 

Behind the girl was a hulking figure that looked as if it could be a statue. It was a suit of armor, the silver metal all sharp edges and points, the person inside holding onto the handles of the wheelchair. Pinpricks of light came from the eyeholes, and unlike the girl, this person was looking at them. 

This had to be Katie and Matt. 

Without warning, Keith grabbed Katie by the shirt and pulled her close to his face. “What did you do? What did you create?” 

Katie was silent, her glazed eyes still not meeting Keith’s gaze. The figure from behind spoke instead. “Officers, we… god we’re so sorry. We didn’t… we didn’t know what would happen,” Matt said, his voice echoing oddly from within the suit. “We’re really, really sorry.” 

A few minutes later, Lance found himself sitting in the living room as Keith discussed the benefits of becoming a State Alchemist with Katie and Matt. Lance wasn’t sure if encouraging the teenagers to join the military was the best thing to do, considering Katie was missing two limbs and Matt was literally just a spirit possessing a suit of armor, but Keith was his superior officer, and so it wasn’t his place to contradict. 

As he sat in the living room, tapping his fingers along the a side table as he listened to Keith’s conversation with the teenagers, he felt someone standing beside him. Looking up, he saw a guy, probably around the same age as Matt, watching him with wary eyes from the door. “Um, hi,” Lance said awkwardly.

“Hey,” the guy said, giving a small wave. “I, uh, knew you were waiting out here, so I brought you some tea,” he said, making a movement with the tray in his hands. “I also brought scones. I make really good ones.” 

Lance couldn’t help but smile at him. “Oh hell yeah! Thanks dude!” he said, taking the tea and a scone. The guy stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do, before he sat down next to Lance on the couch, his own cup of tea in hand. 

Lance watched from the corner of his eye as the guy fiddled with his orange headband, clearly itching to ask him something. Lance waited, taking a bite of his scone and letting out a noise of pleasant surprise at how good it was. 

“Hey, uh, Lieutenant-”

“You can call me Lance,” Lance told him. 

The guy nodded, still not looking at Lance. “Uh, Lance. This is probably like, a really bad question but, um… have you ever killed someone before?” 

The question, suffice to say, took Lance completely off guard. He nearly spit out his tea, not having been expecting to be asked something like that of all things. Glancing up, he gave the guy a bewildered look, before quickly fixing his composure and calming his expression into a mask of neutrality once more. 

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t-” 

“No no, you’re fine, it’s a fair question, dude,” Lance said, cutting the guy off before he could apologize. He took a deep breath, trying to organize his thoughts. “Yeah… yeah I’ve killed a lot of people. It’s not something I’m proud of, like, at all. But I did it anyway. Orders and all.” 

The guy looked at him, adjusting his orange headband with one hand as he nodded. “Yeah, I get that,” he said, pursing his lips. “I just… I never really liked the military much. My parents were doctors, and when the war started they went out to help those who got hurt. But… they ended up getting caught in a bad spot and were killed. I kinda blamed the military for that for a long time, since they were the reasons my parents were out there in the first place. I know logically it wasn’t anyone’s fault, but I’m still trying to figure out how to feel about the military, especially since it seems Pidge and Matt might be joining.” 

Lance frowned and cocked his head to the side. “Pidge?”

“Oh, sorry, I meant Katie. We also call her Pidge. It’s kind of a nickname,” Headband explained hurriedly. 

Lance made a noise of understanding. “Ah, got it.” 

Headband, which Lance had decided to silently call the guy till he learned his name, seemed to be trying to figure out what to say next. “Why did you join the military, Lance?” 

Now that was a question Lance didn’t have to think about. “There was someone I needed to protect,” he said, glancing to where he could see the outline of Keith’s back in the kitchen. 

Headband seemed surprised by that. “Well… if you don’t mind me saying so, I think that’s a pretty good reason to join the military, and I admire that,” he said, looking at where Pidge was slouched down at the kitchen table. “Thanks Lance‒ for talking to me and all.” 

Lance took a bite of his scone. “Yeah man, no problem.”

About an hour later, after Keith had run through the whole ‘become a State Alchemist’ song and dance, he’d been told the Holt’s would think about it. As Lance and Keith walked out the door and back to the wagon they had taken out here to the countryside, Lance glanced back to see Headband waving at him. 

“Hey, Lance!” he called. “My name is Hunk by the way!” 

Lance smiled. “Nice to meeting you, Hunk!” 

“Nice meeting you too, Lance!” 

As the wagon began to ride away, Lance turned back to Keith. 

“Do you think the Holts are going to accept?” Lance asked him. 

Keith, who was staring intensely at his gloves, answered without hesitation. “I’m not so sure about Matt, but Katie will.” 

“How can you be so sure?” Lance asked, cocking his head to the side. 

Keith looked up, his dark eyes staring right into Lance’s blue. “You didn’t see it, but I know the look in Katie’s eyes. She’s willing to do whatever it takes to fix their bodies. And honestly? I don’t doubt for a second that she’ll find a way to do it.” 

~

Matt and Lance stood side by side, facing the pink-haired woman standing in front of them. 

“Oh, armor boy, you’re here. That sucks. I’ve already killed one candidate tonight. I really didn’t want to have to kill another,” Lust said, examining the razor sharp blades she had in place of fingers. “Step aside, Matt. I’m about to send the Lieutenant to meet with his superior.” 

Lance’s eyes widened at that, as the full meaning of her words hit him. He felt his hands begin to tremble, and Lust began to walk towards him with slow, deliberate steps. “W-Wait, no, you can’t mean‒ you didn’t‒ you couldn’t have‒” Lust smiled, and Lance felt all the breath leave him as he realized Keith was dead. 

Keith was dead. 

Keith was dead. 

The thought bounced around in his skull like a ping pong ball, and Lance couldn’t breathe. 

“ _YOU BITCH!_ ” he screamed as he unleashed a round of bullets into Lust’s body. 

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_ The bullets slammed into Lust, leaving holes in her forehead, her chest, her face, everywhere. She stumbled backwards, but didn’t fall. Lance kept shooting, his world spinning. Keith was dead Keith was deadKeithwasdead‒ he couldn’t think. He was seeing red as he blew hole after hole into Keith’s killer, and distantly, he heard someone screaming. It took him a moment to realize it was him. 

His clip ran dry, and Lance pulled out the gun on his hip and began to unload that into Lust as well. She continued to stumble backwards, her breath coming in short gasps as the holes in her light pink skin began to disappear, yellow sparks emanating from her injuries. 

The next clip ran dry, and he pulled out his revolver. He continued to unload bullets, feeling tears well up in his eyes as the shots kept ringing out in the room, and the screams kept coming from his throat. All he could think of in that moment was how much he wanted to tear Lust apart. He needed her dead.

Empty. He shot a few more times, no bullets coming out, as all the energy left him at once. He watched with blurry vision as Lust slumped over, the yellow sparks dancing around her, before she straightened up. Her wounds closed and she smirked at him. “Are you done yet?” She asked, running a hand through her long, pink hair. 

Lance looked down at his gun in shock. He felt the tears spill over onto his cheeks, and he fell to his knees, gun clattering on the floor beside him. Grabbing his chest, he began to sob. 

Lust made a tsk noise. “You humans are so weak. It’s kind of embarrassing honestly.” 

Lance didn’t respond. He was frozen in place, the grief wrapping around him like a vice. He watched through his blurred vision as the hulking figure of Matt stepped in front of him. 

“Lieutenant, you’re gonna have to stand up. You need to get out of here,” Matt said, his voice surprisingly calm. 

“Aw, c’mon! You wanna die first? But you’re a candidate! I don’t wanna have to kill you!” Lust complained, a slight whine to her tone. 

Lance heard a clap, and watched as blue light surrounded Matt, a pole rising from the stone in the ground. Matt lifted it up and pointed what Lance realized was a spear at Lust, and Lust raised an eyebrow. “Whoa. You opened the portal then? That’s pretty cool. Won’t stop you from dying, but still, pretty cool.” 

Without warning, Lust’s blades shot out, cutting the spear in half. She then lunged for Matt, cutting through his metal like butter as she stabbed him through his helmet. “It sucks because you’re such a great candidate. But if you’re really gonna be such a stick in the mud about this I guess I have no choice.” 

Lance didn’t even try to move as the fingers on Lust’s other hand turned into knives as well, shooting towards him at lightning speed. He just watched them rush towards him, waiting for it to come. 

Matt’s arm shot out, blocking the blades from reaching Lance. Lance choked back another sob, and shook his head. “Matt, you need to run. Leave me and save yourself!” 

“No! I’m not leaving you! I’m so sick and tired of watching people die! I’m not going to let it happen again!” Matt shouted back, twisting the arm that had Lust’s knives sticking through it. Lance winced at the sound of metal screeching, and watched as chunks of Matt’s armor flew across the room, Lust freeing her blades from Matt. Matt braced himself in front of Lance, ready for the next attack. 

Then, a voice. 

“You know Matt, I couldn’t agree more.” Lance’s eyes widened, and suddenly everything went very fast. 

Matt ducked to the ground and the blue light of a transmutation lit up the room, and a wall lifted up from the ground to block Lance and Matt just as the world turned into flame. 

Lust screamed as the flames consumed her, their strength so intense that Lance winced at it. Matt was using himself as a second shield for Lance, his hulking, metal frame protecting Lance from the minor flames that made it past the wall. 

Then it stopped, and Lance could hear Lust breathing heavily. He couldn’t see what was going on, but he could hear her talking. “You carved a transmutation circle into your hand?! But how the hell did you not bleed out already?!” 

Lance heard a laugh he would know anywhere. “I had to cauterize the wound myself. Almost passed out from the pain.” And then the flames returned and Lust screamed once more. “You said I couldn’t kill you, but I’m sure as hell going to try!” 

The fire kept coming, over and over and wave after wave. Lust screamed as she was incinerated again and again and again. Lance kept his eyes squeezed shut, feeling both overjoyed and terrified. Overjoyed that he was alive, that somehow Keith had made it back, but also terrified that he was going to over exert himself, that he was going to lose him again any second now. 

Flames, no flames. Screaming and then gasping for breath. The cycle continued on and on, until Lust’s screams were barely audible. One last wave shot out, engulfing the room in its heat, and Lance heard Lust get one last wind of energy, her screams reverberating in his eyes. And then, 

It was quiet. 

“You… you killed me,” Lust said in a soft voice. Turning around, Lance looked past the wall and saw Lust frozen in a half lunge at Keith, her blade stopped just inches from his face. “I hate losing, but there are worse ways to die.” She began to disintegrate, her body turning to ash that floated away into the air, disappearing without a trace. What remained of her body fell backwards, and before she even hit the ground she was gone. 

With one last bounce, the quintessence gem that once kept Lust immortal turned to ash as well, leaving no trace of the homunculus. Keith watched this happen with cold eyes, and when the last of Lust was gone, he collapsed to the ground with a groan. 

Lance jumped to his feet and ran towards him. “Keith!” he shouted, kneeling besides his superior. He was crying again, but this time not out of grief. It was a welcome change. 

“Lance,” Keith said in a hoarse voice, turning to look at him. “Are you okay?”

“You idiot, don’t worry about me, worry about yourself! You need help!” Lance exclaimed, gesturing to the angry red wound on Keith’s abdomen. 

Keith ignored him and looked to Matt, who had also run over. “Matt, thank you for keeping my Lieutenant safe.” 

“Yeah yeah of course, dude right now we need to call a doctor!” Matt said. 

Keith gave a weak nod. “Yeah, that’d probably be best.”

Lance reached over and took Keith’s hand in his own, and squeezed it. Keith smiled weakly at him and squeezed back. It was going to be okay. 

He was going to be okay. 

~

They were walking down the tunnel, the smell of must hanging all around them when Lance realized.

Lance pointed the gun at the Colonel’s back, the damn mullet practically mocking him. 

“Lieutenant, what are you doing?” Keith asked, turning ever so slightly so he could see Lance from the corner of his eye. 

Lance smirked. “When we’re alone Keith and I call each other by our first names,” Lance told the shapeshifter. 

Envy gasped, and before Lance could do anything, she was jumping out of the way. Her face melted back into the one Lance had known. Keith’s mullet turned into short purple hair, his skin fading from its normal tan to a light purple, the facial features reforming until Lance was staring at the immortal being known as the Homunculus. 

“So, you two are that close, huh?” she asked, facing Lance in her true form now. 

Lance’s smirk grew as he clicked the safety off the gun. “Well, actually it just depends on the scenario. Thanks for falling for it though!” Envy’s eyes widened but before she could do anything Lance sent her flying backwards with a shot to the head. 

“HEY!” she protested as yellow sparks flew from the wound, her quintessence already healing it. She was struggling to her feet but Lance didn’t let her as he began to pour her full of bullets instead. Shots rang out as he hit her in the shoulder, the arm, the leg, the stomach, over and over. Envy fell to her knees as her stone struggled to keep up with the speed. 

“You’re being _really_ frustrating right now!” she yelled as Lance’s clip went empty and he switched to the rifle on his back. 

“I try,” Lance shot back. Envy then bared her teeth at him, and purple tentacles grew from her fingers like vines as she began her retaliation. Lance dodged as a tentacle shot towards him, ducking down as another aimed for his head. He tried to get another shot at her, but before he could, two tentacles came flying at him at once. He sidestepped one but wasn’t able to dodge the other, and pain exploded from his shoulder as blood began to pour from the slice she had made there. 

Grunting, he got to his feet and continued to shoot, knocking her back each time she tried to take a step towards him. His shoulder felt like it was on fire but right now, he didn’t have much of a choice but to fight back. Without warning though, she launched at him, grabbing the barrel of his gun with her hand and yanking until it was pointed away from her. “That’s enough,” she hissed at him. 

He tried to free his gun from her grip but her arms were like steel. Lance’s eyes widened as she pulled it out of his hands with ease, sending it scattering across the floor. Ah shit, Keith was gonna kill him for dying. 

Then, a voice. 

“What do you think you’re doing to my Lieutenant?” Envy turned her head to look down the hall on her left, and her purple eyes widened. Before she could even get a word out, Lance watched as a wave of flame poured from the hall, sending Envy flying away from Lance and to the opposite side of the room. 

“Colonel?” 

From the shadows of the corridor, Keith stepped out to face Envy, hand outstretched as flames flickered from his fingertips. Shadows stood out from beneath is eyes, and he was glaring daggers to the homunculus in front of him. 

“Lance, don’t interfere,” Keith ordered as he held out his hand. “I’ve been waiting for this day for too long.” 

Lance couldn’t do anything but nod. He hadn’t seen rage that potent in Keith’s eyes since… well, ever, for that matter. Not even during the Ishvalan War. Back then, his eyes were tired and filled with the weight of his crimes. Here though, all his dark violet eyes told Lance was that he was going to get revenge for what happened to Thace and nothing was going to stop him. 

Envy was scrambling away from Keith, her usual glare completely gone now. In its place was nothing but pure, unadulterated fear. 

Keith raised his hand up, and then the world exploded. 

Or at least, that’s what it felt like to Lance as he watched Keith blast wave after wave of flame at Envy’s lithe figure. She screamed as yellow sparks flew from her body, struggling to repair the damage but unable to do so as Keith attacked her over and over again. Her quintessence didn’t have time to fix the damage before it was being destroyed once more, and Keith didn’t relent for even a second. He was merciless and while Lance knew it was necessary, that they couldn’t let Envy keep on living, it was hard to watch. 

Eventually, after what felt like eons of Envy screaming but in reality was probably only a few minutes, she stopped. Keith paused his assault as Envy slumped backwards, her breathing heavy as sparks continued to light up from her chest. But nothing was happening now, none of the damage was being fixed. 

Lance watched as Envy’s light purple skin began to turn to ash. First her arms dissolved, and then it spread to her legs and chest. Keith watched her with a flat, unsympathetic gaze. It wasn’t long before the entirety of Envy disappeared, and all that was left was a pile of sparking ashes. 

It was over. 

Or so Lance thought. 

Without warning, a small purple thing squirmed it’s way from the dust. It was like a weird worm with two giant eyes on either side of its head, and one large mouth along its stomach. It was muttering something in a high-pitched voice as it struggled to find its way out of the ash pile. 

“Goddammit! Damn humans!” The thing was muttering. It took Lance a moment, but then he realized that this was Envy. This must’ve been the shapeshifter’s true form. 

It was sad, watching the ugly little thing try to get away from Keith. It couldn’t move very fast, and its wide eyes watched the room with fear as it struggled to run. 

“You killed Thace,” Keith said, glaring down at the pathetic creature. “I’m going to kill you once and for all.” His hand raised to the sky, and in that instant, Lance knew it couldn’t end like this. Keith had gotten his revenge; there was no need to make the Homunculus suffer any longer. 

Lance was on his feet in an instant, but before he could even take a step towards Keith, a flash of green light engulfed the room and next thing Lance knew, Envy was being launched off the ground and away from Keith. She screamed as she flew up, landing in the hands of Pidge Holt herself. 

“What are you doing?” Pidge demanded, looking at Envy with a mixture of curiosity and disgust. 

“Hand it over here, Pidge,” Keith ordered, making a ‘come here’ gesture with his hand. Pidge stared at him for a moment, before pursing her lips and shaking her head. She took a step back from him, but this seemed to only make Keith angrier. “Pidge, I said to give it to me.” 

By now, Lance had managed to scramble to his feet, and he knew this wasn’t Keith. It was him, but it wasn’t the Keith he knew. This was a man turned sour by the need for revenge. Lance knew that if he let Keith kill Envy like this, it would set Keith down a road not fit for a leader. 

So that’s why, with trembling hands, Lance pulled his gun from his holster and pointed it at the back of Keith’s head. 

When Keith heard the click of the safety turn off, he glanced behind him, eyes widening slightly when he saw Lance. “Lieutenant, what are you doing?” 

Lance gulped, but kept a straight face. “Sir, you once told me that if you were ever going down the wrong path, that it was my job to stop you. I know you can’t see it right now, but this isn’t the right thing to do. I’m sorry, but I have to follow orders.”

Keith’s widened eyes had narrowed down to slits. “We can’t let this _thing_ live. It killed Thace!” 

Lance kept his finger on the trigger. “I know that. I’ll be the one to dispose of it, because I can’t let you do it.”

Lance watched as the flames in Keith’s eyes grew. “And what will you do without me, Lieutenant? What will be left for you after all this?” Keith’s tone was like ice, but Lance could hear just the barest trace of fear underlying fear in his voice. 

Lance already knew the answer to this. “Keith, you know I won’t have anything left without you.” The words, their underlying meaning clear as day, were said calmly, despite Lance’s pounding heart. He didn’t need to elaborate, and for that he was grateful. Keith knew that Lance had no family anymore. He also knew the only reason Lance stayed in the military after the war was because he thought that if Keith climbed his way up the ranks, he could actually make change occur, and Lance wanted to help him do that. 

Keith continued to stare at Lance from the corner of his eye. His hand was still outstretched, ready to snap and unleash a wave of flame onto Pidge and the homunculus she held in her hands, but it was shaking. Keith then squeezed his eyes shut, and lowered his hand. 

“You know I can’t let you do that, Lance,” Keith said quietly, turning to face Lance. “I’m sorry. I wanted to get revenge so badly that I didn’t realize that what I was doing was wrong.” 

Lance watched as Keith’s shoulders slumped down, all the rage having left him completely. Lance breathed a sigh of relief and clicked the safety back on his gun, putting it back in its holster where it belonged. He didn’t need to do the unthinkable. His Keith was back. 

Without thinking, Lance took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Keith, holding back a wince when it jostled his wounded shoulder. Keith stiffened for a moment in surprise, but quickly relaxed into the embrace, hands resting at Lance’s waist as he took a few deep breaths into his shoulder. 

“I won’t go off the path like that again,” Keith mumbled into Lance’s skin. 

“Don’t worry. If you do you know I’ll be right there to lead you back.” 

~

Keith had his eyes squeezed shut. Wasn’t much point in keeping them open anyway. “Lieut- _Lance_ , I need you to aim me,” Keith said with his hand outstretched. There was a tinge of desperation in his voice, like he was just on the edge of panic but managing to keep it at bay. He’d been like that since the Truth had taken his sight, and Lance couldn’t blame him. Around them the battle raged, with Lance and Keith caught in the eye of the hurricane. The sound of bullets ricocheted around the plaza, and Lance could barely hear himself think, he couldn’t even imagine how Keith was faring being blind. 

Ahead of them, Lance saw Zarkon standing, eyes burning as he prepared his attack. “Alright, I’m going to grab your arm,” Lance said, reaching forward. Keith nodded, and hesitantly, Lance wrapped his hand around Keith’s forearm, and Keith sucked in a breath at the contact. He moved his arm to the right until he was pointing straight at Zarkon. “I’ll tell you when,” Lance said quietly. 

Keith hummed in acknowledgement, and Lance watched with narrow eyes as Zarkon continued towards them. He waited, and waited until the right moment. Until he was just close enough to be engulfed by flames. Then, “NOW!”

Right on command, Keith snapped his fingers and a wave of flame rushed towards Zarkon. Within seconds, they were nothing but charred pillars of ash, and Lance let out a little noise of triumph. “Hell yeah!” 

“I guess that means I hit him?” Keith asked. 

Lance nodded, but then remembered he couldn’t see that. “Yeah, you really did.” Just then, the smoke faded, and Lance saw Zarkon was still there. “And you’re gonna have to do it again! NOW!”

The flames shot out once more, and this time when the smoke cleared a field of energy appeared around Zarkon, crackling with the energy of the alchemy. Lance instantly realized what he was doing as the flames entered into Zarkon’s hands, slowly growing outward once more. “He’s preparing to attack us back!” 

Without warning, Keith clapped his hands and dropped to his knees. The blue light of the transmutation illuminated him as a wall of dirt rose up, right as a wave of flame came barreling towards them. 

Over and over they did this. Lance aimed Keith and told him when to shoot and when to block. Lance knew Keith was putting his full trust in Lance’s judgement, and he didn’t take that lightly. With each touch on his arm or quiet instruction into his ear, Lance felt Keith’s internal panic ebbing away. He knew Keith was worried if he could still be useful in the fight even if he was blind, and by god he was. 

In retrospect, Lance knew that if Keith had refused to fight with his alchemy blind, they wouldn’t have had the time needed to defeat Zarkon. Without Keith, they would’ve lost, but Keith had been willing to fight because he had Lance guiding him. 

Lance trusted Keith, and Keith trusted Lance. Lance put his faith into a man who could change things, and sure enough he did. And as always, when Keith rose to the position of Führer, Lance was right there beside him. 

And there was nowhere else he’d rather be.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun note: I didn't originally think I had time to write the Lust death scene along with all the others so originally I wasn't gonna do that but then just out of curiosity I rewatched the scene in FMAB and was like 'holy shit I have to do this' so yeah you guys got it
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed!! This fic was super fun to write and I will forever be in love with fullmetal alchemist and man this fic just reignited that love
> 
> ANYWAY make sure to check out my artists tumblr that I linked in the beginning again and once more, special thanks to Cheesecake my great beta!
> 
> Let me know if you liked it!  
> My tumblr: zarkondoms.tumblr.com


End file.
